Meeting & Event Management Graduate Success Story

Our Meeting & Event Management Certificate program is instructed by a group of industry leaders. The course gives students fundamental skill sets and practical knowledge to plan meetings and events like an experienced professional. Both new and aspiring managers, or experienced planners, can increase their knowledge and skills in this rapidly growing industry.

“Atlanta is considered the fourth-best city for meetings and events,” said program manager Pam Moss.

Recent graduate Natalie Leopard learned about the Meeting & Event Management course from a brochure that she received in the mail: “My mom said ‘Why not go for it?’ It’s an opportunity I should take.”

After attending the introductory session at Open House, led by the “enthusiastic and inspirational Pam Moss,” Natalie was immediately inclined to take the class and signed up for it that evening.

She felt the instructors were very helpful, specifically Allyson Wagner.  She also appreciated that there was a different teacher for every class, sharing their real-world experience with her. Natalie said, “They encouraged me to succeed and helped me get a job after completing my certificate.”

The Audio-Visual and Risk Management classes were her favorite. She was comfortable in the Audio-Visual class due to her previous experience in the subject, and her Risk Management instructor made the material interesting and exciting.

Natalie secured an internship with Kellen Company, a global association management and communications firm. She is responsible for following up on invoices and billing. In addition, Natalie is learning how to make a Request for Proposal, a bidding solicitation in which a company announces that funding is available for an individual project and other companies can place bids to complete the project.

In the course, Natalie gained insight into the inner workings of events as well as the industry’s terminology. On preparing her for her job with Kellen Company: “I was familiar with the acronyms used on the job.”

Natalie hopes to use the information that she obtained from the Meeting & Event Management course to run her own events management company one day. For future students in this course, she advises that they be active participants, read the book, and attend every class to get the most out of the course.